Mets star pitcher Matt Harvey may be out for rest of season after elbow injury

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(PIX11) – Bad news for the New York Mets in what’s turning out to be a tough year: Star pitcher Matt Harvey’s season appears to be over after he suffered a partially torn ligament in his pitching elbow.

The news is devastating to the team’s ace pitcher, the organization and fans. The right-hander who has been the bright spot in a bad season is unlikely to pitch again this season. He could be sidelined even longer.

Outside the Met’s Clubhouse store on East 42nd Street fans including Joe Quinn reacted to the unexpected bad news. “Terrible. I mean he was the hope of the franchise.” Hal Udell told the PIX11 Morning News, “Honestly I’m a huge Jets and Mets fan so hearing that is a huge disappointment because we are terrible as it is.” he added,” Now we don’t have anything to look forward to. Now we’ve got no pitcher, no hitter. There’s no one to lead the team so it’s just a bummer!”

Harvey has a 9-5 record this season with a 2.27 ERA and 191 strikeouts. He started the All Star game at Citi Field and ranks fourth in the majors in strikeouts.

General Manager Sandy Alderson says they are not going to rush him into the operating room to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the ligament. But writers like like ESPN New York.com’s Adam Rubin say, “Odds are Matt Harvey will probably undergo Tommy John surgery and he’s probably going to miss all of 2014.” The surgery requires 12 months of recovery time. Harvey has said he hopes to avoid it by strengthening the area around the tear but that tactic is often unsuccessful. A number of pitchers have come back from Tommy John surgery and had successful careers.

Harvey’s injury will likely cause him to miss the rest of the season.

There are published reports saying the team knew Harvey had been complaining of tightness in his pitching forearm and should have been sent for magnetic resonance imaging or an MRI earlier. Met fan John Piro says he can’t understand that. ” What I’m hearing is a month earlier they knew about this and they didn’t send him for an MRI. It’s not right. Same old Mets.”

The hard throwing pitcher from New London Ct. typically throws 97 and 98 miles per hour and complained of discomfort following Saturdays game. An MRI confirmed the injury. His manager Terry Collins had been planning to limit the number of innings he pitched this year in an effort to protect his valuable arm.